Zubiri to Pamplona

After a great breakfast at Pension Amets for only five euros, we hit the trail. I knew I would have to walk fast in order to catch the 930 bus to Pamplona at Larrasoaña. The office where I booked the lodging closed early today and so I had to be there before they closed.  The trail was fairly easy and it brought back memories of my very first Camino when Joe and I left in the dark from Zubiri and got lost! That taught me a great lesson about patience and just waiting until the sun came up to walk. 

One of my pilgrims asked me how many steps there were on the portion of today’s stage that goes up from the park past Irotz.  I had never counted them so I decided I would count the steps that go down to the trail from the highway. There were 90!  I think there were probably twice as many going up the trail from the park past Irotz!

The restaurant at Irotz was closed.  That’s too bad because I know many pilgrims depend on it. There was a restaurant open at Larrasoaña.

The Abbey was open. On their sign they invited people who wanted to camp there to speak with them, so if you are a camper this is one place where you might be able to pitch your tent. 

I made it to the bus stop about three minutes before the bus arrived. There is no marked stop. It is directly across from this building. 

I almost didn’t make it onto the bus because I couldn’t find my mask, but luckily there was a nice lady there who had an extra and offered it to me. 

The bus leaves from Larrasoaña at 9:30 and costs €1.70

Well I was making arrangements for everyone’s lodging in Pamplona, they were walking the rest of the way into town. To me this stage is easier than the last two, but I booked lodging about 2 km past Pamplona and so they were quite tired when they arrived. However, I hope they will thank me tomorrow when their stage going over Perdón is shorter. I asked them about restaurants that were open. The one where everyone stopped was either at Larrasoaña  or at Zuriain right where the Camino crosses the bridge and goes onto the N-135. Vivien said the name of it is Casa Vinicsa. Someone took a picture there and it looked like it was really crowded

Everyone was in by 3 PM. Marcia and I had a really nice dinner at cafeteria restaurant RUMBOS. I will post their menu in English. After a bit we were joined by Paula and Gil. 

I did a big old load of laundry and hoping it dries by morning. It’s 10 minutes till eight and I’m ready to hit the sack. 

More tomorrow, 

Annie

Ox Tail Stew. I thought it was delicious but Marcia didn’t like it because she thought it had too much fat. (I like fat)

Cheesecake. This really wasn’t what I would call cheesecake and I would not recommend it. It was more like a vanilla cream pie but not really that either. I just can’t describe it. 

Ha ha ha

I had pork chops and they were good 

though they were a little bit tough

Paula had the half chicken with salad

Marcia‘s Apple cake was yummy

Vivien and Nic

Steep Section Videos

Blogger will not allow me to upload these here. I will do it when I get home in June. 

It also will not allow me to answer comments and much of the time does not let me see the comments. Someone else why I did not post a blog for the section from Borda to Roncesvalles and the reason was because I took a taxi. Later if people want to give me their photos I will post on that section but it was pretty straightforward.

Roncesvalles to Zubiri. 23 kilometers

This will be a photo heavy blog today. Most of the walk from Roncesvalles to Zubiri is not extremely difficult but I also wouldn’t call it easy. There are a few sections where you’re going up a hill. But the trail on those sections is very good and it’s just a matter of taking your time. If you need to walk five steps and rest, then walk five steps and rest. Don’t give yourself a heart attack.

After leaving Roncesvalles you walk through a little forest and on the other side of that forest you come to a coffee shop. I believe the name of this is Pension ITURRIALDEA. That is how it is listed in Brierley. It was open and that was where we had breakfast. Well that is where we had breakfast number one. Ha ha Ha. Directly across the street from that is a supermarket and it was open at 7:30 this morning so we stopped in for food to put in our pack. 

None of the restaurants that are usually open in Burguete were open. Marcia was able to fill her water bottle at the church where there is a very good fountain. We continued walking until we got to Espinal. There we found an awesome restaurant on the right hand side. He was serving a beautiful array of breakfast tapas and was quite busy, being the only place open in town. So we had breakfast number two.

I’ve just some hill walking another 5.3 km we entered Viskarret.  Right at the entrance to the village there is a bar and restaurant and supermarket. That I seemed to remember another one farther into the village and so I took my chances and we did find Bar Juan open.  Several people were just walking right by because I think they thought it was closed but we peeked in the window, saw they were open, and sat down for a nice rest and refreshment.

The climb to the top of Alto de Erro was steady and steep. Again I had to stop and rest every little bit but if I can do it anybody can do it.

At the point where the trail crosses the N – 135 Highway, there is a food truck - he has tables where you can sit and rest and have a snack. If you are planning on attempting the 4 km walk down into Zubiri, I strongly suggest you stop here for at least 15 or 20 minutes to rest, to eat, to drink, before attempting the descent. That 4 kilometers is very steep and very rocky and the trail is rough. But again if I can do it anybody can do it.

 I would only suggest you doing it if the weather is dry. If it is raining I highly recommend you call a taxi at Viskarret  and Taxi into Zubiri.  It is not worth risking breaking a leg or an arm to walk this 4 km and there’s no shame in calling a Taxi as far as I’m concerned.

We arrived in Zubiri about 3 PM. I would say it took a good six hours to walk the stage.  

Finding food here is not as easy as it used to be. The roast chicken place is closed. The restaurant where we wanted to eat was full and we cannot get a table. My suggestion is you book your pilgrim menu at Palo Avalleno.  She was serving what looks like a really nice dinner. I managed to walk to the sports center where I got a good Pilgrim menu for €12.50.  I had a Russian salad, pork cheeks and potatoes in Port followed by yogurt with berries for dessert.

I am now in my bed reading my email after a nice shower. I am at Casa Suseia.  There were not enough beds at Pension Amets for me since all of my people wanted a private room. This is a very nice place however and I’m sure to have a good sleep here.  

Tomorrow I may walk part of the way to Pamplona. However I need to arrive there before 2 PM and that’s impossible at the rate I walk and so I will probably either bus or Taxi part of the way. Now I will post some photos from the day.

I apologize that these are not an order but this blogger app easy to use and I haven’t figured it out yet so I will label each photo.

Marcia on the 4 k into Zubiri

This is the food truck at the highway

Vivien

We followed a pilgrim with a donkey cart for a while

This is the restaurant/supermarket at the entrance of Viskarret 

This is the tiny Stone Chapel as you leave Roncesvalles

Much of today’s walk was through beautiful woods

This place had a great breakfast at Espinal

More of today’s trail

Marcia found a smoothie!

Marcia, Gil, and Marla crossing the stream

There were lots of horses with foals

This is Bar Juan in Viskarret

Paula and Gil

For videos of the steep sections, see the next post

The Pilgrim Mass

The Pilgrim Mass at Roncesvalles was especially meaningful to me tonight. When the priest read the nationalities of the pilgrims who had checked in today, it just went on and on and on. There were pilgrims from all of the world on the Camino today. There were five priests attending. In the past, some of the Mass has been in English but tonight it was all in Spanish and though I only understood portions of it, it touched me.

I suppose I am a bit of a pantheist, because I believe God is in everything and everyone, and everything and everyone is in God. I can go to any church, any ritual, or just be out in nature alone, and I can find God.

In one part of the Mass, they turned off the lights and shone a light on the Mother. I need Her loving touch in my life right now, and I pray She will be with me on this Camino. It has been a rough two years for so many people, myself included, and I continue to work on my brokenness. I have much to learn and correct in myself.

The idea that people of all faiths, and those without, can come together in this beautiful ritual, without judgement or hate gives me peace. It gives me hope.

May all of you wonderful pilgrims be blessed with love, understanding, and compassion for each other. And may you have a Buen Camino!

Love,
Annie

BORDA - May 2

My awesome group

Ready to walk!

The obligatory SJPP photo

Marla is happy!

And they’re a little nuts. LOL!

I love this walk!

Marla

We made it to Orisson early!

Soup, beer, and Magdalenas 

My pod at BORDA

Maggie

Vivian

 Today was what they call hell day, but it was not difficult at all for anyone in my group except me. They are all champs!

We had to be out of our lodging at 8 am and not into this lodging until 2:30, so we had tons of time in between. We spent most of it at Orisson. This was my fault because I fell to see the check in time on the email that Laurent, the hospitalero sent me.  What I should have done was have my group spend their morning exploring SJPP.

 Joe, if you are reading this, this is a hint for you.  

Marcia and I walked to BORDA around 12:30 and literally FROZE waiting for Laurent. But once he arrived, things moved quickly. He took us on a tour, told us about the building, and explained what time dinner would be. You only have a four minute shower here so my choice is to wait until I get to Roncesvalles for showering. It is a very clean, pretty place, and it’s run like a ship.  We were not allowed to bring our backpacks upstairs. We were given plastic bins to put whatever items we wanted to carry up into. At first you’re taken aback by that but in the end you realize it’s really a great way to keep the bedbugs down and I appreciate the effort.

I’m not sure if I will walk tomorrow. It will depend on the weather. I feel I need to get to Roncesvalles ahead of the group and get everybody checked in

I’ll decide in the morning  

Love, 

Annie

May 1 - St Jean Pied de Port

 We had a lovely ride to St. Jean. The taxi driver who was a lady, told us there were two ways to go. One way had a lot of curves and one did not. The way without a lot of curves with a little bit longer but we chose that. 

We arrived and got checked into our rooms and went to the Pilgrim office to check in. We then went out looking for food. Half of us went to a vegetarian restaurant and half of us really wanted meat.

Prices of gone up event since Covid . A pilgrims plate was €15 here but  it was really good. The first course was a plate of meats that were local. I’ve often wondered what some of these tasted like so it gave us the opportunity to sample each one. The second plate was a plate of pork loin with a tomato compote, fried potatoes and salad. Dessert for me it was two scoops of ice cream. One was a wonderful lemon that made my taste buds dance. I’m not sure what the second scoop was. I think it was banana but it was tart so I just couldn’t quite figure it out it was really good.  After lunch everybody just kind of went their own way. 

The owner, Christoph, stopped by to collect money and take our breakfast orders  he was very happy to see us and was quite kind. It was a little confusing because I had heard there was some problem with picking up backpack transport but he seemed not to know about that so I’m just going to ignore what I heard and think positive  

We met up at dinner time at the Gite for a potluck. We all brought whatever food we were carrying I just shared it. It was a lot of fun.  We had a lot of fun telling stories from our childhood and I’m finally in bed now at 10 PM. Breakfast is at 7:30 AM and we will hit the trail to BORDA.

Wish this wonderful group a Buen Camino!

Love,

Annie

Hostal BEARAN - Pamplona

 

Joe and I arrived at Hostel Bearan and immediately realized I had made a big mistake. We specifically asked for a room that was fragrance free — and I was hit in the face by Febreze when I walked in the door. My brain is wiped clean. I cannot remember simple things. I feel dazed and confused. 

It’s fucked - in so many words.

I have stripped the sheets off the bed and am sleeping on an upside down mattress in my sleeping bag because it’s too late to cancel. There is nothing to be had in Pamplona unless I want to pay over €200 per night per room. So we are here and I am sleeping with earplugs up my nose.

My pest service called and wanted to service my house and I needed to change the date. Believe it or not, I could not even remember my own address. I had to ask Joe my address.That’s what fragrances do to me. That is MCS. I met a pilgrim down in the bar and felt like an idiot because I couldn’t remember names and places I’ve stayed in for years. I’m lucky,  tomorrow I will remember my name. 

Anyway, I’m having a rough night.

Hopefully better tomorrow, 

Annie

Happy Birthday Joe!

Yesterday was Joe‘s birthday. We were going to go to Calle Laurel to La Taberna del Tio Blas, my favorite place on Calle Laurel. But we realized it was too late for us last night so this morning we got ready and went over around noon to celebrate Joe’s birthday. We ordered Chuletón de Ternera This is a huge T-bone steak that comes on a plate of slate, with a pile of fried potatoes and grilled peppers. The price seems a little high, (49 Euros), but it includes a bottle of wine and really is enough to feed four people Highly recommended. We arrived right around noon, so it was very quiet. If I were going to do this in the evening, I would be there right when the doors open at 7 pm

Best. Food. Ever!!!